Present bias is the tendency to settle for a smaller reward available now rather than wait for a larger reward in the future, systematically overvaluing immediate outcomes relative to long-term consequences in a trade-off. It is used in behavioral economics as a measure of self-control, a trait linked to the prediction of more secure life outcomes, and it is closely related to hyperbolic discounting, from which it differs mainly in how consistent a person's preferences remain over time.
Facts
Core ClaimPresent bias is the tendency to choose a smaller reward available now over a larger reward available later, systematically overvaluing the present relative to the future. 1 Classification
Type of Phenomenon Connections
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Source Wikipedia: Present bias
Open Questions
Source Wikipedia: Present bias
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Present bias
Wikimedia FoundationWikipedia: Present bias, lead paragraph
Present bias is the tendency to settle for a smaller present reward rather than wait for a larger future reward, in a trade-off situation.
lead section, phenomenon-kind classification
Present bias is the tendency to settle for a smaller present reward rather than wait for a larger future reward, in a trade-off situation.
Associated With: Hyperbolic Discounting, Wikipedia: Present bias, Explanation section
In the field of behavioral economics, present bias is related to hyperbolic discounting, which differ in time consistency.
View the Source Open Questions (1 open question)
In what year was the term present bias first introduced?
The cited Wikipedia article states only that the term was not introduced until the 1950s and separately notes that Phelps and Pollak introduced the quasi-hyperbolic model in 1968, without giving a specific year or publication for when present bias itself was first named.
What would resolve this A citable source naming the specific year and publication that first used the term present bias.
Wikipedia: Present bias
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